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Thread: Migrating Vale

  1. #31
    According to Miki, nothing she had done along her journey had been outlandish. The overseer heard out her case, and everything did seem relatively normal. Nothing she mentioned should result in these strange visions she reported... except one thing. One particular word stood out, among all the things Miki spoke of. Necromancer was the word, and it was among the most horrid things to speak of so casually in these lands.

    "Little Flower..." he said, closing his eyes fully and opening his senses to the blonde. Now that he knew what he was looking for specifically, he could pick up traces to sate his wonder. It was feint, but there were small traces of the Underworld's influence within her. "Yes. You have been touched by the Underworld, at such a young age. I pity you. To tread such a path at that tender age is dangerous to you, and to the world at large. You must complete your journey, my child. Until you know the Truth, influence of the Underworld may lead dark entities to you. None of our kind have dabbled in those arts before knowing fully themselves, as well as nature."

  2. #32
    In explaining her travels, Miki had given the Overseer all the information he needed. His next words to her brought her pause, as he claimed that the touch of the Underworld was the reason for her inexpiable visions. There was quite a bit of relief to be experienced knowing exactly why she was seeing things that shouldn't be there. "Hoh? Hahahaha~" she laughed for a second or two before having the grace to look a bit embarrassed. "Sorry, It's just... nice to know I am not actually going crazy. I'm finally having a decent bit of fun, it'd be a shame to lose myself here and now," she stated plainly. Of course there was the way this man had phrased his statements. He claimed she needed to finish knowing herself as well as nature to avoid the dark forces. And even claimed to feel pity for her because she was touched by the Underworld at such a young age. "Oh, right.. You guys consider me to be basically a child at this point," she said softly mostly to herself. 'Still the next part is reclamation, so I solve the Rune Puzzle, get back my lost essence and then whatever the next trial is...' she remembered this bit though she'd not bothered with it being distracted by side quests and all.

    "Alright then," she said directly to the Overseer having a pretty decent idea of where he was going. "What do I need to do next?"

  3. #33
    Laughter? How strange. In her own words, Miki claimed she did so simply due to the relief of not going mad, or something to that extent. It was understandable. What wasn't quite so understandable, was her mention of how she was considered a child by the Druids, or rather... the fact that she spoke as if she didn't already know. The normally expressionless male showed a small amount of visible confusion, but then, it disappeared. Hearing Miki question the next path she was to take, that small semblance of a smile returned to his face. His arm outstretched, he gestured toward a path of soft sand leading behind his location. "I sense that you have more understanding than you intend to let me know, Young Flower. It is time you reclaim what is yours..."

  4. #34
    It was stated by this man that he thought she had more understanding than she was letting on. This was the truth, Miki wasn't being outright shady, but she had a decent bit of knowledge about this line of her quest because of her previous time spent playing the game Age of Eternity. That being said, she didn't want to tell someone organic to the world that their lives were something that she'd played with for her own relaxing amusement when she'd been on her own home world. She obviously didn't want to cause anyone to have an existential crisis. "Life is pretty complicated right now. I don't want to put that on anyone else..." Miki said with all due consideration being given to the man who was her guide on this path. As someone who was from a completely different place, she didn't want to give him more to consider than he needed. "Alright, Trial of Reclamation it is..." she gave a quick bow and headed towards the pathway opened up for her, little did she know this was about to be one of the toughest trials she'd go through.

    The path of soft sand led to an opening, to an alternate space. One, Miki had visited before. It was the Rune Stone Circle which the young Druids were required to visit. It was here, she was baptized the first time. And it was also here that she gave up part of her essence, as it was called. Giving a piece of yourself to explore the world with a handicap is part of the proper experience of being a Druid. Once you receive a connection to at least one Nature Spirit, you are offered the opportunity to reclaim what you gave up. It was considered to be a tough puzzle part of the game, not that Miki had much worry about the kind of puzzles that could pop up in a game. Apparently it wasn't uncommon for certain circles of Druids to not bother with trying to reclaim what they gave up, it was a speed runner tactic to simply give up something you don't need anyways, and move past this point without having to come back. But Miki, had done something different.

    She'd taken a route the long way around, and what she'd given up here, was two tiers of her Mana. Yes, she'd been walking around with C-Ranked Mana and the Purge skill, instead of A-Ranked Mana without it. But she'd decided that Purge was an essential part of this character build so the lesser of the evils was giving up power at first to be able to do much more later. Or rather that was the hope. As she entered the Rune Stone Circle she walked around it, passing over several stones until she reached one which looked familiar to her. There was nothing here that she could tell, but the crack in the top of the stone, was in the same shape as the crystal she'd received from the Water Spirit. She held it up in her hand and it glowed in resonance. "Well, here goes nothing..." she said pressing the crystal into the Rock a Puzzle type was revealed. Miki's eyes widened and then a large grin spread across her face. She laughed hysterically. "It's a Sudoku Giant!" she exclaimed. "I have to tell Kou about this later..." she thought happily, wanting to share this information with her puzzle happy companion.

    What was a Sudoku Giant? Well, it was a Sudoku Puzzle but instead of being 9 x 9 like a standard puzzle it was 25 x 25 in five by five blocks. Intrisically instead of numbers it contained each and every Rune currently acknowledged by the Druid Language. All 25 of them would need to be inserted, without repeating one in a 5 x 5 block in a 25 length line vertically or horizontally. This was most certainly an interesting problem to encounter, since by giving up Mana as her power, she'd made this harder. She couldn't afford a single mistake, having to un-inscribe a rune wouldn't be worth the lost energy. She had to place each one with care and it'd still take a considerable amount of time until the puzzle was solved. "YOSH! Let's get to work."

  5. #35
    Such an interesting child he had the privilege of watching the journey of this day. He would be sure to watch her more intently than he had been up to this point, if only to witness her development after discovering her Necromancer ability. It had been some time since he'd seen a Necromancer come from their race, and the last one he witnessed was none too friendly. This girl, though, was an interesting case indeed. How far would she go? The suspense would soon become palpable. More curious even, was the identity of whatever spirit latched onto her while managing to reach this plane...

  6. #36
    Miki's go at her newest challenge was one which she undertook with extreme concentration. Every rune she placed she did with care, and it took several moments for her to complete a single line. Strangely, when a glowing line of 25 runes was completed, it settled into the stone. 'Sou ka, so at least it will tell me when I am right,' she thought to herself. 'Okay, I can work with that...' she mused. Her concentration would continue. Ashikaga Kimiko was no supreme puzzle solving genius. She applied logic and measured steps every time she undertook a task. She wasn't the type of person who looked at something and immediately knew the answer. No, she was the type who worked at something until she was great at it. Moments of trial and error, of logic and calculation, all of it came together to help her attain her goals.

    Sweat shown her her brow in a light mist. She bit her lip in concentration. A single lock of hair twirled about her fingers each time she drew a Rune here, she felt it sapping at her limited strength. Her vision was blurring from exhaustion. There were still two whole lines left from top to bottom. It was becoming harder to keep each line straight. Harder still to make sure she didn't use the wrong runes accidentally. Mind over matter. She was pressing forward. A whole line of five blocks completed. This made the runes lining it glow the pale green color of her Mana. A deep breath, another five another glowing set of Runes. 'I can do this...' she thought as she aimed to continue, she was so close now, she could feel the end. Even as she blinked spots out of her vision, she pressed forward. Until, ultimately there were only four runes left. Four. She had to be sure of the ones she'd seen already. Two long lines in both directions. Twenty-five whole, lines written in glowing green only a few were left.

    Ansuz.

    She drew the rune out of breath. She'd seen this one... in the countenance of the Overseer. He came to mind when she thought about it. It suited him.

    Berkano.

    The rune which had been atop that woman's head in the forest, the clarity which allowed for Divination. She embodied it, the vision to see beyond.

    Kenaz.

    A bit like Kou, not the light of Dagaz that was too plain. Illumination... yes, somehow that seemed more fitting. And...

    There was but one Rune left. One she'd known all along. She didn't have to look up to know which one it was. To know that two lines of this puzzle and it overall would be complete. Still she hadn't the strength to lift her finger again. She barely had any Mana left. The truth of her being was right there. The last Rune was the one which marked her forehead. She fell to her knees before this stone, her forehead making contact. 'I'm exhausted. It's almost done I came this far, I know what belongs I just have to...' her body was tired. Beyond tired even, she'd given everything she had to put the right ones in place. Every calculation. Every perfectly drawn Rune. If she didn't finish this now it was all for nothing. Her index finger moved again, slowly, the regeneration of her Mana caused by the earrings she wore, was just enough. It dragged along the stone, nail cracking. She winced gently, it didn't hurt. She had to finish, he'd given her what she needed to finish it, she absolutely had to do it. Her finger in the right square she began to draw. With everything she had left. A downward stroke. From the top of that one another shorter. From the bottom end of the short stroke an upward one also short, equivalent. And then, the final downward stroke. As her eyes closed, she didn't even get to see the completion, the brightness that overtook this stone as a matter of her completed puzzle. The Runes that flowed to life in their active state as she did what was necessary completing a Runestone for herself to join the many that dotted the land.

    Ehwaz!

    Her crystal fell out of the top as the magic of these Runes settled, their constant flowing notion no longer needing to be grounded in nature. It returned to the lass that which she'd lost as she leaned against it unconscious... two tiers of Mana from C all the way to A. And now something more...

  7. #37
    Much was accomplished by Miki in her newest trial. Her overseer watched as she worked her way through the puzzle ahead, nearly not managing to complete it due to exhaustion. She had certainly sacrificed a great deal of herself, to the extent of nearly removing her own ability to regain it later in life. Either way, the deed was done eventually. Miki lost consciousness, but that was fine; he'd leave her to her rest until she woke naturally.

    Someone disagreed, though...

    The apparition seen numerous times by Miki thus far, had once again appeared. He was in a purer state this time, pale of skin with full green hair and eyes. He appeared with a much brighter halo surrounding his body, crouching in front of Miki and reaching out to her shoulder. He... touched that shoulder again. There was a greater solidity to his contact this time around, and that cold aura of death had become less prominent. His mouth was once again opening...

    "... me."

  8. #38
    Miki got a few moments of blissful sleep. It was amazing to rest, amazing to have restored the base quality of Mana she wanted to have with her character. Amazing to have finished such a crazily designed puzzle, though she'd almost messed up her own ability to inscribe Runes doing so. But, luck was on her side, and all she needed to do now was rest, before trying to head on to the next phase of her challenges. The Overseer wouldn't wake her, this was a safe space, there was no reason to bother her here.

    But it wouldn't be Miki who woke herself in a few hours, nor would it be the Overseer who nudged her from her place she'd collapsed against this rock. No, it was the strange apparition. The one she'd been seeing since she arrived in the forest, was now less scary, more whole. Whole enough to reach out and touch her, and enough that she heard him. Not all of what he said due to her own lack of consciousness, but just one word. 'Me?' her eyes opened at the though and she groaned uncomfortably, something cold touched her. Not the cold of death but still colder than she would have liked. Since when did she fall asleep in such conditions? Beyond that, who was this person touching her? "EEEEEPPPP!" she aimed to jump back and knocked herself into the rock. She exhaled a breath in a gasp and tried to gather her bearings. Her heartbeat immediately speeding up and adrenaline kicking in. Being woken up from her sleep in what was probably the most startling way ever.

  9. #39
    A successful waking of the lass occurred, much to the surprise of her overseer who expected her to sleep for quite some time. Could this have had something to do with her connection to the Underworld? Those traces of influence did seem to grow just a bit stronger the moment she restored her Mana. At the same time, her connection to the green-haired androgynous figure grew more powerful, or so it seemed. She woke, which meant she could feel his touch. He seemed worried in this moment, but soon widened his eyes and opened his mouth while reaching to her again. There was a certain amount of urgency in this moment, but as urgent as it seemed... he vanished more quickly than he had before.

  10. #40
    Just as she was getting her bearings, the lad before her vanished. But he'd been there, she knew he'd been there. A sigh escaped her as she tried to calm herself. She'd broken out into a cold sweat. But leaning back against this stone, she felt the infinite flow of Mana and she knew that she was alright. "Whew, alright, deep breaths... just a second..." she spoke to herself as she always did, coming to rub her face soon after. She was fine, everything was real, this person she was seeing didn't reek of death in the same way anymore. Perhaps, he was trapped beyond, in the Underworld? That didn't really make sense, but maybe she could help? 'Of course, he's been scaring the shit out of me, and my first idea is to help him... ugh,' she thought. She wasn't a mean person, but her natural self definitely would have thought twice about trying to help out someone she couldn't see, who'd been making her feel crazy. This Avatar was nice beyond even her own recognition of it. She sighed though, there was no reason not to help.

    She drew her fingers up into a fist, closing her hand around that same fallen crystal. It was still here, and it was still hers. She picked it up, placing it within her cloak while she aimed to take the same path back to the flower where her overseer sat. When she reached him she stood before him and smiled. "Alright, I saw him again... is there anything I can do... to help him?" she asked about the person she kept seeing. It wasn't good for her concentration to keep being randomly scared.

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